4 West African states mount operation in opposition to Islamist insurgents

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OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo have carried out a joint army operation to counter elevated assaults by Islamist rebel teams in elements of West Africa, Burkinabe Safety Minister Maxime Kone mentioned on Tuesday.

Over 5,700 troops have been deployed within the borderlands between Burkina Faso and the opposite three international locations beneath a safety cooperation deal the international locations agreed in 2017 to forestall jihadist violence spreading from the Sahel area.

The five-day operation led to the arrest of over 300 suspects and the seizure of weapons, ammunition, automobiles, medication and a considerable amount of materials to make improvised bombs, Kone advised a information convention.

Teams linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have expanded their attain within the Sahel area in recent times, destabilising Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. They’ve made occasional incursions south, together with into Ivory Coast and Togo.

The Burkina Faso authorities is going through a public outcry over its perceived lack of ability to cease the militants, who in November carried out essentially the most devastating assault on native safety forces in recent times.

(Reporting by Thiam Ndiaga, Writing by Alessandra Prentice, Enhancing by Timothy Heritage)



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